I am a teacher in California and just got back from the Dept of Ed training for those appointed to serve as Instructional Materials Reviewers for the 2026 English Language Arts/English Language Development Follow-Up Adoption. This materials adoption is in response to state legislation (AB 1454) from last year requiring evidence-based curricula be used in schools. I am Orton-Gillingham trained and completed LETRS training. The room was full of professionals who felt the weight and opportunity of this moment for students in California.
Hi, Karen. Can you please say more about, "I want reformers on the right to be willing to say plainly that knowledge-building curricula face obstacles in state departments, including those in red states." What are the obstacles in state departments? To what extent do you think they are political?
Short answer: no one knows. Longer answer: I don’t get the sense they are political, as in “people are allied against KBC because of the design or the topics of the materials.” I DO wonder (as do others) whether lobbying has played a role in the consistent presence of basals. The basals come from big publishers with big lobbyists, and I imagine this helps secure their place on the list. They can, of course, point to EdReports and their presence on all of the other state lists to bolster their case in the lobbying process.
I am a teacher in California and just got back from the Dept of Ed training for those appointed to serve as Instructional Materials Reviewers for the 2026 English Language Arts/English Language Development Follow-Up Adoption. This materials adoption is in response to state legislation (AB 1454) from last year requiring evidence-based curricula be used in schools. I am Orton-Gillingham trained and completed LETRS training. The room was full of professionals who felt the weight and opportunity of this moment for students in California.
Thank you for your service! Can you say more about the rubric / process?
Hi, Karen. Can you please say more about, "I want reformers on the right to be willing to say plainly that knowledge-building curricula face obstacles in state departments, including those in red states." What are the obstacles in state departments? To what extent do you think they are political?
Short answer: no one knows. Longer answer: I don’t get the sense they are political, as in “people are allied against KBC because of the design or the topics of the materials.” I DO wonder (as do others) whether lobbying has played a role in the consistent presence of basals. The basals come from big publishers with big lobbyists, and I imagine this helps secure their place on the list. They can, of course, point to EdReports and their presence on all of the other state lists to bolster their case in the lobbying process.
Thanks.